HBGames
I've come to the conclusion that a good project needs structure. A foundation. A skeleton. Just like an artist builds of a sketch. You start with the basic stuff and gradually add-on to it. Some people, myself included, would start with lists and bullet points. Planning their games out as a table of contents or a walkthrough in a separate word document.
I'm against "making it up as you go"; that is creating maps or locations with an undefined purpose that you may or may not use. But in a way we are all "making it up" when we start a new project. So why not map your game out on a map in your project?
Start small
You've probably heard that before. But I really mean it. Create a miniature version of your game. The idea is to conceptualize the player's progress on a map using events. Lets say you have a Heroine who's journey begins when she finds a silver coin. So on the map you would put the player's starting point. Then you add an event that gives you the lucky coin and turns on the switch "Got Coin".
What does she do with it? She tosses it in a fountain and a water spirit give her a magic coin purse that is always full.
She's cleaver enough to keep it secret and hide the purse at home. Makes a withdrawal and goes to town.
Depending on how much money the player took. She could enroll at the academy and become a Scolar. Maybe hire a handsome mercenary. Or get mistaken for a theif and get invited to join the thevies guild.
And you just keep adding paths until you come to a conclusion.
It's important to include switches and conditions, along with some basic dialog, so that you can playtest and see how it flows. One event revealing the next and so on. It can go in a linear fashion or circle out like a web depending on if you have a linear story in mind or an open world exploration. It doesn't have to be all on one map if you want to break your game up into acts, chapters, locations, or whatever.
When you are ready, move on to mapping and setting up the scenes for the game. All the important events and switches are ready for you to copy and paste and add on to. So it's just a matter of creating the details.
I'm against "making it up as you go"; that is creating maps or locations with an undefined purpose that you may or may not use. But in a way we are all "making it up" when we start a new project. So why not map your game out on a map in your project?
Start small
You've probably heard that before. But I really mean it. Create a miniature version of your game. The idea is to conceptualize the player's progress on a map using events. Lets say you have a Heroine who's journey begins when she finds a silver coin. So on the map you would put the player's starting point. Then you add an event that gives you the lucky coin and turns on the switch "Got Coin".
What does she do with it? She tosses it in a fountain and a water spirit give her a magic coin purse that is always full.
She's cleaver enough to keep it secret and hide the purse at home. Makes a withdrawal and goes to town.
Depending on how much money the player took. She could enroll at the academy and become a Scolar. Maybe hire a handsome mercenary. Or get mistaken for a theif and get invited to join the thevies guild.
And you just keep adding paths until you come to a conclusion.
It's important to include switches and conditions, along with some basic dialog, so that you can playtest and see how it flows. One event revealing the next and so on. It can go in a linear fashion or circle out like a web depending on if you have a linear story in mind or an open world exploration. It doesn't have to be all on one map if you want to break your game up into acts, chapters, locations, or whatever.
When you are ready, move on to mapping and setting up the scenes for the game. All the important events and switches are ready for you to copy and paste and add on to. So it's just a matter of creating the details.